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The global ocean takes up about a quarter of all CO2 that humans emit into the atmosphere. The Southern Ocean is responsible for about 40% of this. However, the amount of CO2 it can uptake varies from year to year. An international research team with the participation of the Alfred Wegener Institute investigated why the uptake varies so much and was able to show that what happens in winter is crucial in explaining this variability in CO2 uptake. The study was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. 

During the end of the last ice age huge amounts of CO2 which were formerly stored in the deep ocean upwelled in the Southern Ocean and were released to the atmosphere. This was one of the main causes of global warming at that time. However, it is assumed that not all of the stored carbon was released into the atmosphere, but that parts were directly transported northwards by the so-called Antarctic Intermediate and Mode Water into the East Pacific. So far, however, this has not been clearly proven. Using a combination of sediment core analyses and highly…

An international initiative is investigating whether the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has reached a tipping point and what the consequences would be. AWI researchers are also involved.

The 25th Arctic Dialogue at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Potsdam focused on international cooperation in polar research. The dialogue placed a particular emphasis on the upcoming fifth International Polar Year, which is scheduled for 2032/33. Representatives from research, politics and national and international organisations discussed the scientific, social and geopolitical perspectives of this major project.

How sensitively does organic carbon stored in soils react to changes in temperature and humidity? This question is central to a new study by researchers from MARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven that was now published in Nature Communications.

There is a relatively high probability of encountering early warning signals when approaching a tipping point. However, this should not be confused with the probability that a tipping point is actually approaching if statistical early warning signals are observed. This is because there could be several alternative explanations for the presence of such early warning signals. In a Perspective article in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature Climate Change, a team of researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute suggests taking a critical look…

Working together, the university and AWI have used their data platform PANGAEA to begin creating backups of U.S. scientific datasets. The impetus for this are threats of budget cuts under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which could result in the loss of valuable climate and environmental data.

The findings raise fresh concerns about the increasing spread of pollutants and the potential consequences for fragile polar ecosystems as climate change accelerates. The research, published today in Nature Communications and led by the University of Bristol, provides the clearest ever picture of how the underlying transport system, known as the Transpolar Draft, operates. It also uncovers the various factors controlling this major Arctic surface current, including warmer temperatures which could increase the spread of human-made pollutants. The…

Polarstern returned to her home port of Bremerhaven at high tide this morning. After a good 20 weeks in the Antarctic season, the research vessel moored at the pier in the overseas harbour at 5:00 am. Over the next six weeks, routine maintenance and repair work will take place at the Lloyd Werft shipyard before the ship leaves for the Arctic at the end of May.

Der Antarktische Zirkumpolarstrom ist die größte Ozeanströmung der Welt, der immer im Uhrzeigersinn um die Antarktis herumströmt. Er transportiert Wärme sowie Nährstoffe und übernimmt dadurch eine wichtige Rolle für unser Klima. Trotz dieser Bedeutung wissen wir noch relativ wenig über sein Verhalten. Um dem Verständnis der Strömung einen Schritt näher zu kommen, haben Forschende des Alfred-Wegener-Instituts und des Leibniz-Instituts für Ostseeforschung Warnemünde aus einem Sedimentdatensatz rekonstruiert, wie der Antarktische Zirkumpolarstrom in den…